Perhaps we should compare notes. I am in the exact same situation.
"Perhaps we should compare notes. I am in the exact same situation."
You bet. I am doing a stock market/management program, a mysql administration program, plus various mixed ventures where we use Access as a front end on widows machines but tie to MySQL. So, I'm sure we both have looked loooong and hard at the Microsoft option and found it wanting. Not to say open source doesn't have hurdles, but I'm pretty much over the hump now and won't go back.